Improvement in automatic gate



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I/V. W. BURSON, OF ROCKFORD', ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No. 83,923, dated Nocembcr 10, 1868; wnftezlatcll October31, 1868.

MPROVEMEN T IN AUTOMATIC G-Alii.

The Schedule referred to in these `letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom. tt may concern:

Be it known that I, W. W. Bonson, of the city of Rockford, in the countyof lVinnebago, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulApproach-l Opening or' Automatic Gate; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description j of the constructionand operation of the same, refervence being had to the annexed drawings,forming part lof this specification, in 'whichson in awagon or carriage,or on horseback, without dis-v mounting, and consists of certaincombinations of devices hereinafter to be set forth.

In the drawing, A is the bas, representing the ground oname to receive'the posts E E', and the posts B C' Cl', which support the gate P by theelevated ways D D', the friction being relieved by the'sheaves ao. Theiight-angled swinging arm K,.pivoted to post 'Bat c, attaches thepitman-L, which is hinged to the gate-bar lr at d, (fig. l.) The leversF F', hin'ged .to the cross-beam N at j'f,operate the right-angledswinging arm K, by means of the. connecting-pieces I 1 taking hold ofthe arm K at g.

For convenience of operation, the pendants H H are attached tothe outerend of levers F F', and communicate the same motion to them as if ltakenhold of directly. The cross-way D is hinged at h to the post B, and theother end can be raised, as shown in the dotted lines, (iig. l.)

The gate P is constructed by fastening the bars r lrr between the pieces0 O and O O', with diagonal bracing, if desired. The pieces O O are ofsuicient length to. reach the elevated way D, receiving thefriction-.sheave a.between them, which supports the front end of thegate. The pieces O' O' secure between them the bars at the rear end lofthe gate, and also the sheave c', and are about the height of the gate.C

The wire, m, connects the pendants H H', and enables the gate to beopened from the opposite side from which it has been fastened closed, asdescribed further on. p

In operation, the gate P being closed, as shown in fig. 1, full lines,the pendant'H or H is drawn downward, which swings lever F, hinged at f,drawing upward the right-angled projection of swinging yarm K, actingthrough connecting-pieces I I', which movement pushes open the gate Pbj' pitman L.A Pushing upward on the .pendant Hreversesthe'abovej-'mentioned move` ments, andvlpses the gate. If yit isdesired to fasten the gate securely closed, the pendant H or His placedon top of the post E E', in which situation it cannot be opened untilthe pendant is removed from the post, as above described. If it isdesired to open the gate from the opposite side from which it wasfastened, the pendant is readily drawn from the top of the post bydrawing upon the wire, m.

My' aim has been, in this invention, to furnish an approach-opening orautomatic gate, which should combine cheapness, simplicity ofconstruction, and durafv bility, and at the same time beso arranged asto be made ,with a farmers kit of tools, without calling intorequisition either the'blacksmith or machinist. Accordingly, 'it will beseen that the4 gate can readily be constructed entirely of wood,although iron boite, when obtainable, Vare 'of coinse preferable towooden pins, as also the friction-sheavesare better made of iron thanwood.

In this invention, especial attention is invited to the followingexplanation of the devices employed to accomplish theforegoing-mentioned results.

.First,.the gate is constructed by fastening the bars r r-Jr between theperpendicular pieces 0 O and O' O',

' which serve the double purpose of holding the barsin place, and alsothe iction-sheaves a a', which support the gate on the ways D and D',and since these supports pass on both sides of the ways, the gate cannotbe thrown olf the track, as isthe case whenl the sheave is supported onone side only, as is usually done. This plan of supporting thefriction-sheaves a a between two wooden supports is much cheaper thanthe usual iron fastening given the -shcavewhen supported only from oneside.

Second, the way D is placed over the carriage-drive, at thedesiredheight, and the way D' is placed lower, so that it may passbetween the gate-bars. The advantages of this arrangement of thev ways,over the usual plan of having them at the same height, are that the gatewill be verymuch lessfai'ected by winds in opening and closing, while itsaves the extra height.

of the post C and hangers O O.

Third, it will be observed that the weight of the swinging arrnA K wouldtend to start'the gate open when closed, and closed when open, but as ithangs perpendicularly at the half-way distance, .it requires power tomove it in either direction, To overcome this tendency of arm K, one orboth of the ways D D' are curved upward om both ends, so as to make themovement of the gate about of equal force.

Fourth, the way D is pivoted at h to the post B, the l other end restingon apin in post C, and is heldinposition by a notch in the under side ofthe way-piece. The advantages of this arrangement over a solid fasteningof the way-piece to the posts are, that it need -not be placed higherover. the carriagefdrive than to permit the usual vehicles to pass underit readily, and Ywhen any higher object, as a load of hay or straw, has

fo pass under it, the driver nn the load can easily Vraise the'Wray-piece,V so that the load goes under 1t also saves the extra heightof posts B and C, and hangerpieces O O, and still more important is themore positive guiding of the gate in time of hard winds. If the way Dwere jointed and hinged outside ofthe restingplace of sheave a, when thegate was open, it could then be raised perpendicularly, offering nohindrance to the passage of the tallest object through.

Fifth, the levers F F are hinged to the cross-beam N, which is fastenedto post `B. These levers are hinged at f to the connecting-pieces I I',which take hold of the Tight-angled part of swinging arm K. The lowerend of arm K is hinged to the balanced pitman L, which is hinged to thegate P at d.4v The pendants H H -are fastened t'o the outer ends oflevers F It will be`seen that drawing downthe pendant H will, throughthe medium of lever F, connecting-piece I, swinging arm K, andbalancedpitman L, open the gate P, and pushing upward on the pendantwill reverseall these movements, and close it. This arrangement and combinationsaves the usual ropes, chains, frictionsheaves, and distance-posts tosupport the same, and is free'from the objection of beinga'ected by rainand sleet, as is the case with ropes land chains, besides being muchcheaper, 'and more durable.

Sixth, the levers F Fare hung obliquely upon the piece N, so that-thependant H shall be in reach of the driver, as also obliquely to theperpendicular plane, as it would not'be convenient to draw directlydown- Ward upon the-lever F from the carriage. To accommodate these twoconditions, the levers 'are placed at the desired angles to each plane.v

Seventh, the levers F F' are constructed 'ct' tlu'ee pieces, i', runningthe length of the lever, placed on its edge, ",reinforcing this piecepast the pivot-pin f, and i, placed over these, stiening the lever'sidewise, (iig. 4;) -This 'construction of the levers renders themstiff .and light, giving them extra strength where the greatest comes,and also partly balances them.

Eighth, the pendants H Hf are fastened to the outer ends of levers F F',in such manner that they can swing freely, either lengthwise orcrosswise of the lever, which movements are necessary to accommodate theconvenience of drawing and pushing them, and frees the pendants from thedanger of being broken off bybeing run against by anything. This.fastening is made' by cutting a curved recess in lever F, near its outerend,

' on the under side, and making a curved opening or fork in pendant H,then making a ,hole in pendant H, about on a linewith the under surfaceof the lever, through which hole a wire or cord is passed, and over thelever, connecting the two with a fastening admitting of the movementsbefore spoken of. Other methods of making this jointed connection may,of course, be used, but this plan is chosen on account of itsadaptability to the wants of the farmer:

Ninth, it will be seen that the pieces I I', connecting levers F F withswinging arm K, cannot be fastened rigidly to either piece, but each endmust, roll somewhat upon its fastening. To accommodate these movements,and at the same time furnish the cheapest possible fastening, the parts'referred to are somewhat rounded, and the holes in pieces I I areelongated or enlarged, for the play of the bolts, permitting the motionsrequired.

Tenth, the pitman L, forming connection betweenswinging arm K and thegate P, is extended beyond its pivot, d, and the extension enlarged orweighted, t0 assist in balancing the parts, and equalizing themovementsof the gate. Without this balancing of pitma'n' L, and the 'curve of wayD, as hereinbefore described,

.the weight'of the swinging lever K and pitman L' would tend to open thegate partly when closed, and close it partly when-open, but the'pitmanlcan beI so balanced as to overcome this tendency, and to assist inclosing and opening fully ,the gate. i'^[ Eleventh, the pendants H areconnected by the wire,

m. When it is desiredto fasten the gate closed, the

end of the pendant is placed on. top of the post under it, 'which holdsit securely closed until it is removed from the post, which may be done'from the opposite side from which it was fastened, by means ofthe wire,m. `Fiom the foregoing description of the devices herein used toaccomplish the desired result, it will be Been that simplicity ofconstruction, and durability of the parts, have been leading objectsthroughout; and I shall desire to secure the benefit of this plan' ofconstruction, as equally effective with complicated devices, andmuch'xnore valuable for general use.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination and arrangement of levers F F', pendants H H',connecting-pieces I I', arm K, and ways D D', when the whole areconstructed and operatedV substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

2. Constructing the way D or D with suitable curve to overcome 'thegravity of swinging arm K, substantiallyas specified.

3. The combinationand arrangementof the pendants H H', wire, m, andposts E E', operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

W. W. BURSON.' Witnesses:

Trios. J. RUDD, Crans F. MILLER.

